


Nostalgia

by Savannah (Fratchet41)



Category: The Walking Dead (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Most of the time, Nick is a baby, Nick is shy too, and an even better boyfriend, but it'll probably turn into a pwp eventually, cracks knuckles, haha let's see if we can break a few hearts, luke is a great big brother, not rated mostly because i don't have any plans for anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2014-04-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 01:22:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1326520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fratchet41/pseuds/Savannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A lot changes, a lot doesn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The gun shook in his hands.  
It was terribly heavy, and Nick had to blink away the sweat that had dripped into his eyes. The dark living room was silent except for his heavy breathing. The weight of 6 people’s gaze was pushing the air out of his lungs. Blood seeped into the rug and someone thundered down the hall upstairs.  
“Christ, Rach?!”   
It was Uncle Pete.   
“What the-“  
“Dad?”  
“Sarah! Stay upstairs!” Carlos called. This time, Nick dropped the rifle, and fell to his knees.   
Around him, the world turned. Sweat dripped down his cheeks and through the back of his shirt. Blood seeped into the rug. It would probably leave a stain.   
Thankfully, her eyes were closed. She couldn’t see him, see what he’s done. It. . . it was-   
“Nick.”  
A familiar hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm, friendly. Luke.   
Nick shivered, but the hand remained. The morning sun shone through the window and formed yellow patterns on her skin. For a second, she was alive.   
“Oh, God. Rachel! Oh Christ. . . Wh-what the fuck happened?” Pete was yelling again, but the hand on his shoulder only gripped tighter, an odd sort of anchor in Nick’s dreams. Luke was there, and that’s all that he needed to know.  
“Nick.” Luke’s voice was gentle and careful. Nick closed his eyes. The blood was still soaking through the carpet and onto his knees. The stain wouldn’t come out.

They buried her that afternoon, underneath the apple tree. Uncle Pete was the one to take the spade and dig her grave, without a single glance or word for Nick. Something that wasn’t quite hatred swirled inside him at the thought. A lot of his uncle’s disappointment showed through what he didn’t say about Nick, rather than the rough scoldings over the dinner table.  
The sun was setting over the tree line as Luke took the spade from Pete. He looked exhausted, and was grateful for the help. Nick sat in the cool grass and watched. The sunset had bathed everything in gold, shining over her dead skin and through the cracks in Luke’s hair. Pete glanced at Nick, eyes dead. Still, he said nothing, wiped his dirty palms oh his pants, and headed inside.   
The spade scraped the loose earth, and it fell over her loose body. Luke’s face was grim, but his sure grip and strong arms didn’t falter. All Nick could do was watch with a sort of wishful jealousy bubbling up in his throat. Luke was so sure and strong, everything he wasn’t. Nick couldn’t shoot a buck in the forest and he couldn’t bury his own mother.  
That was how it always was: Nick uselessly sitting in the grass and Luke burying all of his mistakes.  
The sun crept closer and closer to the trees, staining the sky with inky orange and pink clouds. Luke stuck the spade back into the ground and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Nick drew his knees closer to his chin and shifted uncomfortably. His vision blurred and he shivered, the air having cooled down significantly since the afternoon. The sun was almost gone now, Luke seemed to have finished replacing all of the earth.  
“You okay, man?” he asked gently, kneeling in front of his friend. His eyes were gentle and sad.   
Nick opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing that came out was a small, choked sob. His body, betraying him, shook like a leaf and squeezed his eyes shut. He shook his head and swallowed.  
“Hey, hey now. It’s alright, you’re alright.” Luke cooed. He shuffled a little closer and brought Nick into a tight hug. Nick could only hiccup and pull Luke in almost twice as tight. He squinted his eyes and still tried to deny the tears from falling. He shook himself and sighed.  
“I wish— I, oh god—” he could only mumble the beginnings of thoughts that crossed his mind, but was never able to finish a full sentence. His entire brain fought for dominance over the situation.  
Luke was warm and damp from exertion, which still couldn’t help the chill in his bones and the cold in his heart. For a moment, they were both silent, just quietly listening to each other’s quiet breaths. Nick didn’t notice that it was dark until Alvin called from the porch.  
“You two love birds ‘gunna stay out here all night? Or should we save a bed for you two?”  
Blushing, both of them pulled each other up to their feet and scampered back to the house. The moon was full and the stars shone bright in the sky. Luke beat him to the house.   
They both actively ignored the living room and trudged up the wooden stairs. Once in their room, Nick sat on the foot of the bed while Luke peeled his still-damp clothing. Tomorrow was laundry day, so everyone’s clothes had gotten pretty gross.  
“I’m kinda surprised we fit as many people in this place as we do.” Luke chuckled, scratching absently at his bare stomach, “Nine people in a three bedroom—” he stopped himself, and Nick tried to look away. Luke bit his lip and pulled a plain t-shit over his head. Once he was done changing he sat next to Nick. The dip in the bed made him slouch into his friend, almost leaning on him.  
“Hey, look, I’m sorry—”  
“It’s fine.” Nick quietly murmured, because it really was. Nick hadn’t even noticed Luke’s mistake until he corrected himself. Luke didn’t seem to believe him, because he put another had on one of Nick’s stained knees and spoke.  
“Nah, Nick. I’m—”  
“I said it’s fine.” Nick stood and brushed off Luke’s warm hand roughly. His words may have been a little too harsh and his movement a little too quick. Once he saw Luke’s hurt expression he knew he’d made a mistake. “I. . . I just have a lot to figure out right now and I. . . I just.”  
As if to try and escape the conversation, Nick spun and jarred open the dresser, tugging another t-shirt from it. Luke didn’t say anything when he dressed himself, so he assumed that his friend had gone to sleep already. He sighed when he noticed that his shirt was about 3 sizes too big, and figured that he had accidentally switched with Luke.  
He turned and saw that Luke, indeed, had crawled under the covers on the side closest to the door. Nick shrugged and removed his hat, carefully placing it on the nightstand before scooting into his side.  
The house was deathly quiet at night, something that was not helping in letting Nick sleep. He couldn’t get her out of his head. The way her hair shone and her skin glowed, her smile and the ever growing stain on the carpet. Nick shivered again, drawing himself in tight. He didn’t like the silence, the cold from the open window. He didn’t like being alone. He squished his eyes shut again and shook like a leaf in the wind.  
As if on cue, warm, supple arms reached around his waist, pulling Nick closer to the centre of the bed. It was so like Luke, to be warm and strong, but still impossibly gentle. Nick envied his friend’s ability to comfort and relate to others within the group. Stuff just rolled off him like it was nothing, but Nick couldn’t let anything go for the life of him.   
So there he was, uselessly sobbing in the arms of his childhood friend, and babbling something about having to man up. Luke was silent, the only reassurance was the tight grip of his forearms and the warm breath on the back of his neck. Nick liked it better like that, and hopefully he could pass it off as Luke sleep-cuddling or something.   
Nick sighed a deep, heavy breath, and nuzzled deeper into his pillow. Crickets chirped loudly out the window, a sound Nick had never noticed before everything had happened. He smiled to himself.  
“Some things never change.” He whispered solemnly, closing his eyes and falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's go back in time.

Superman was Luke’s favourite.  
Every saturday morning, he’d race downstairs with his blue blanket under one arm and his bowl of cereal in the other, flick the TV on, and sit on the rug in front of it. He’d only spill a little bit of milk on the carpet, but his mom wouldn’t notice if he covered it with his blanket.  
Luke loved almost every superhero, or anything that was on at 6:00 on a saturday morning, but Superman was his favourite. He was so strong and good, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix. Every adversary had a weakness Superman could exploit, every problem had a way out, and he would only be there long enough to save the day and acknowledge the thankyou’s from the helpless citizens. Superman found it so easy to be good, to be selfless.   
Luke didn’t like Nick when he first met him. It was the first day of grade three when the teacher forced Luke to move his seat and sit next to him, since nobody else would. His friends all laughed and joked around from across the room, and he was stuck next to the kid in dirty jeans who only seemed to like looking at his toes. Nick wasn’t annoying at all, but he made Luke angry all the same. He didn’t talk to anybody and didn’t have any toys to play with or lunch to trade. Still, Luke was forced to spend his day sitting next to him, away from his friends.  
“Ms. Kovacs assigned your seat for a reason, Lu.” His mom huffed. Her hair was loosely tied back, the stray strands of hair stuck to her damp forehead. She was bent over the hood of their old Ford, her face and apron stained with black grease. Luke had always been told that he was the spitting image of his mother.  
“Yes, Momma.” Luke said, a little crestfallen. He absently rolled an empty can down the driveway. The heat bugs moaned through the yellow morning sky. There was only a week left in school and he had wanted to spend it with his friends. Luke shouldered his backpack impatiently and sniffed, “Is the truck fixed?”   
His mom sighed and tinkered for a few more minutes, swearing under her breath. “Sorry, Lu, but you’re walking to school this morning.” She turned to her son and wiped her head tiredly, “But right to school this time, no fiddle-farting.”   
Off like a shot, Luke spun and ran down the driveway, across the street, and up and over the fence to the neighbour’s backyard. From there, he cut through the yard, went through the fence behind it and across the train tracks. Luke then stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The huge expanse of trees shaded the ground before him, quietly rustling in the breeze. It was only a ten minute walk straight through until he got to the schoolyard. Luke smiled and quickly started down the familiar trail to his left.   
About five minutes in, the trail was interrupted by a small creek about 5 feet across. There, Luke stopped and set his bag down in the damp grass. He sat and began untying his shoes. He was halfway through taking off the second one when a quiet voice interrupted him.  
“What are you doing?”   
Luke turned and saw his desk partner, Nick, shyly standing close to an old oak tree. One of his hands gently gripped the bark like it was his mother’s side. His hair was mussed and dark, along with his rumpled, unironed clothes and dirty shoes. He looked afraid, which made Luke uncomfortable.  
Luke turned back around and continued removing his sneakers, “My momma’ll be mad if I get my shoes all wet.” He sighed, finally pulling his shoes off and tying the laces together.   
That seemed to peak Nick’s interest, and he ever-so-slightly emerged from behind the tree to reveal a dark, swollen black eye. “You’re going through that?” He pointed towards the river, and Luke smiled.  
“Yeah.” He stood and removed his socks, carefully stuffing them into his shoes and slinging them over his shoulder. “It’s fun. And you get to school quicker than if you go around.”  
Nick shifted his weight uncomfortably and looked at something on the ground, “Can, uh, Can I come with you?” He took a step closer to Luke, who had begun rolling his pants up to his knees.   
“Sure,” Luke smiled again. Nobody but him had known about the creek before, and he thought it would be fun with someone else for once. “Take off your shoes first, though. Don’t wanna get all wet.”   
Nick nodded and obeyed, kneeling to untie his shoes the same way Luke had. Once he had done the same with both his socks and pants, he scampered to the bank with Luke. Once they both go to the water, Luke stopped and kneeled close to the water.   
“Wh-what are you looking for?” Nick asked quietly, but the other kid didn’t answer. For a moment, the sound of trickling water and croaking frogs was all that could be heard, and Luke let out another wry grin.  
Water splashed up as he jumped foreword with his hands, making Nick startle and fall back onto the grass. Luke had gotten his shirt wet, and the mud from the river soaked into his knees. It didn’t look like he had minded much, as he was too focused on what was caught firmly in his hands.  
“Look.” Luke giggled, turning to Nick and sitting beside him, “A crawdad.”   
Indeed it was, Nick recoiled at the sight of it, afraid of it’s claws. The spider-like legs of the creature struggled and scrabbled for purchase against Luke’s muddy hand. It’s antennae twitched, making Nick shiver.  
“Is it like a bug or something?” Nick asked, disgusted at the sight.   
Luke laughed, “No!” He said, standing and throwing it back into the creek, “it’s like a lobster.” He turned and helped his friend up. When he didn’t get any response or acknowledgement, he spoke again, “you ever have lobster?”   
Nick took Luke’s hand and pulled himself up, “No.” He replied, dusting his pants off.   
“Aw, man.” Luke whined, taking note of his dirty pants, “Momma’ll never get them stains out.” He tried to brush as much of the mud off as possible, but to no avail. There was a long silence, and Nick kicked at the loose dirt absently.   
“How’d you get your shiner?” Luke asked innocently, “Sure is a big one.”   
Nick crossed his arms and looked away, “S’nothin’ I just fell, is all.” He mumbled quietly.  
Luke shrugged and didn’t press the question, so he turned bad towards the river and sighed.   
“Best be getting on to school now, or Ms. K will have our hides.” Nick nodded and followed close behind his friend.   
The water was cold and the rocks were smooth at the bottom of the creek. Luke felt Nick cling to the back of his backpack, but chose to ignore it. The creek wasn’t terribly deep, but chances were Nick hadn’t been used to a current like this before.   
“You never been through a creek before?” Luke asked just as they came to the deepest part, even then, it only came up to just below his knees.  
“Can’t swim.” Nick said quietly, clutching a little closer to Luke’s bag. His voice shook, but he still pressed on.   
“Well, it ain’t that deep, look, we’ve almost made it.” Luke reassured, nodding towards the shore. He had made this crossing countless times this year, so this one was no different from all the others.   
There was a loud crashing sound from the other side of the river, and Luke turned.  
“The hell you think you’re doin’?” A large, frightening man in a grimy shirt approached from the other side of the river, holding a rifle. “Get the hell outta my river you little shits!”   
Nick made a frightened sound and Luke grabbed him by the back of his collar.   
“Shit, come on!” Luke cried, nearly dragging Nick though the rest of the creek and scampering back through the trees. He didn’t think the man would follow them through the water, let alone through the forest and into the school yard. He only glanced back to check that Nick was still following him, which he was. It was only a few minutes till they got to school, then they’d be safe.   
It was then that they both met a chain-link fence, which Nick nearly smashed into. They could still hear the man’s angry yells approaching them, and Luke’s heart skipped a beat.  
“Quck, quick!” Nick whispered, kneeling down. Luke took the queue to step onto Nick’s shoulder’s and heave himself over the top. Once he landed on the other side, he was me with terrified blue eyes.   
“What do I do?” Nick yelled.  
“Climb it, climb it!” Luke said, voice rising in panic.   
“You fuckers! I’m telling your mommas after i whoop your little asses!”   
Nick glanced back once and gripped the fence, quickly scrambling to the top of the fence. His pants were caught for a second, but he quickly tore free with another frustrated grunt. After nearly landing on top of Luke, the two sprinted through the brush again for a few minutes, before finally reaching the school yard.   
Luke collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, “That was close, huh?” He laughed, but Nick didn’t answer. The bell hadn’t rung yet, which meant that they didn’t need to get to class for another few minutes. Other children were getting dropped off by their parents in their cars, laughing and playing with their friends.   
Once Luke had caught his breath, he sat up and rolled his damp pants back down. His shoes and socks had luckily stayed dry around his neck, so he quickly shoved his onto his sore feet. He looked to Nick, who hadn’t done the same. His pants had a huge rip in the knee, and were still rolled up halfway to his calves.   
“Where are your shoes?” Luke asked suddenly, and Nick looked at him with genuine fear in his eyes.   
“I-I dunno.” He scratched his head and turned back towards the forest, the school bell rang, and all the children began filing through the door.   
“Well, did you drop them?” Luke stood and grabbed one of Nicks wrists, who quickly pulled away.   
“I didn’t, I didn’t. I think I forgot ‘em by the river.” Nick snapped. Luke felt his stomach turn. The schoolyard was empty by now, they’d be late if they didn’t leave right now.   
“Come on, I’ll think of something.” Luke grabbed his friend again and hauled him towards the building.   
Nicks wet feet made a loud slapping noise as they made it into the otherwise quiet classroom. Every student turned as the two found their way to their seats. Ms. Kovacs looked at Luke first, then Nick. The two felt that they were in trouble. Nick sat and played with his nails, not looking back up at him.   
“Nick, may I please speak to you outside for a moment?” The teacher clicked her tongue and stood. A chorus of whooping and jeers rang through the classroom.   
Surprisingly even himself, Luke stood with Nick, but Ms. K quickly rebuffed his accompaniment with the flick of one hand. Luke sat back down, and ignored all of the stared from his classmates. There was a moment of silence in the classroom, with nothing but quiet rumbling from kids around the room, before the door flew back open and the teacher stepped back inside without Nick. The class quieted again into an eery silence, and the teacher then beckoned for Luke to join her.  
Fearing the worst, Luke reluctantly stood in his chair and shuffled out of the class. This time the class said nothing about his required exit. Ms. Kovacs didn’t look unhappy with him, but Luke was still uneasy.  
Nick was standing awkwardly in the hall, again, picking at his fingernails. The teacher closed the door behind her, and turned to Luke. He felt nervousness rise in his stomach.   
“Nick told me all about what happened to you two boys.” She said quietly, she looked at Nick like she wanted to apologize, and then back to Luke. “I was wondering if you’d like to go back and get his shoes with him?” She winked at Luke, who looked more than a little confused.  
“But then we’d miss school.” Luke murmured, glancing back at Nick. The boy looked a little more than disappointed. The black eye wasn’t helping his cause.  
“Just this one time.” She whispered, winking again, “Our little secret. Make sure you take him to your mother, give him a proper lunch.”  
Luke nodded and turned, grabbing Nick by the wrist again and pulling him down the hall. Nick didn’t resist as much as he had the last couple of times, which make Luke happy. They both cut through the back field and into the forest again, a little more cautious this time.  
“Won’t your dad be mad that you skipped school?” Nick whispered as he watched Luke shimmy over the chain link fence after him.  
“Nah, I ain’t got one.” Luke answered, a little too loud.  
“You ain’t got a dad?” Nick sounded confused, “Man, you’re lucky.”  
Luke scoffed, but didn’t answer. They had already come upon the river, and could see the small, white shoes on the other side. Luke thanked whatever god existed that the man hadn’t seen and taken them.   
The crossing wasn’t as bad as the first one. Nick didn’t seem quite so afraid and there wasn’t an angry monster trying to catch them.   
“Hey,” Luke murmured over the sound of the rushing water, “Who’s your favourite superhero?”  
“What?”  
“I like Superman.” Luke continued, “He’s so big and strong.”  
“Oh,” Nick thought for a moment, “I like Loki.”   
“Naw.” Luke snorted with laughter, “You can’t like the bad guy!”   
Nick made a sound like he was hurt, “Loki’s not bad.”   
This time, Luke actually laughed. They came upon the other side of the creek, and Luke sat to roll his socks back on, “Then why’d he do all them bad things?”   
“It’s not like he’s trying to be bad.” Nick said quietly.   
Luke shrugged and pulled oh his right shoe, “Well, he’s bad. That’s why he has to be stopped, by good guys like Superman.”  
Nick pulled both shoes on and stood, “Being good ain’t that easy.” He sighed, stepping closer to Luke, “A’sides, the only real reason you’re ever good is ‘cause you’re trying to be.” He held out a small, damp hand to help his friend up.  
Luke didn’t have an answer for that, but took Nick’s help anyway. The friends stood together and walked back to Luke’s house, his mom would know what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

     When Luke awoke, his bed was empty. The sun had already sprung past the tall pines and in through the open window. Luke sat up and gazed outside, the summer was ending, and the heat of the day was being replaced with a cool breeze. He arched his back with a groan, and grimaced when he felt it pop. For a moment, there were no biters, nobody hunting for them, nothing trying to kill them. It was late summer, the breeze was cool and life was normal. The bed was cold on Nick’s side, so he had been gone a little while. Luke set his feet on the cold floor, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Maybe he had gone down to find something for breakfast and got distracted or something.  
     Luke stood and pulled a cold pair of jeans that had been discarded on the floor. He saw that Rebecca had taken the old laundry already, and probably would be pissed at him for waking up so late. Luke yawned a little too loudly as he pulled the door to the hallway open, lazily tromping down the stairs.  
     “Nick,” Luke called. Carlos, who was sitting with Sarah on the sofa, turned to Luke, but didn’t speak. His somber glare was not what he had expected. He looked towards the rug, which looked to be wet with some sort of cleaner. Luke sniffed and looked back at Carlos, who was still staring at him.  
     “He’s out by the tree.” he murmured quietly, as Sarah continued to chirp on about the novel she was reading.  
     “Oh.” Luke simply stated. The realization had hit him like a ton of bricks. Instead of saying anything to Carlos, he simply walked out the front door and onto the porch in his bare feet.  
     The tree stood alone, with the pile of loose dirt beside it. Nick was nowhere to be seen.  
     Something close to panic rose in Luke’s chest, “Nick!” He called again, but received no answer. He looked back at the door, and before thinking, took the rifle that was left leaning against the house. He couldn’t track like Pete could, but he’d be damned if he told Nick’s Uncle that his nephew had run off. Luke knew him enough to know what he did and didn’t need to know.  
     The damp pine needles poked at his bare feet as he jogged through the trees, ignoring both the cold and the sleep that pulled on his eyelids. He didn’t know whether it was the lack of food or the amount of exorcize he was getting, but Luke had been feeling drained as of late, at least more than usual. He was careful to hear or see walkers, but still strained his ears for the sound of his friend.  
     He hopped the wire fence and cut his foot open pretty bad, but couldn’t stop. By now his heart was racing and tears were pricking at his eyes. Every breath he took came with a small helpless noise, he didn’t even realize he was calling Nicks name until he tripped over a loose branch and almost fell.  
     Soon he came upon the clearing, and after that, the river. If he was anywhere, he would be there.  
     “Nick!” Luke called again, voice a little hoarse from exertion. He scanned the other side of the stream, but saw nothing, not even a walker. He then began jogging up the bank, desperately searching for his friend. He Luke felt as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest, like his entire body was going to burst open. He let out a frustrated grunt, and slowed to a walk.  
     Falling to his knees, Luke heaved, his lungs burning with need for oxygen. His hands shook so badly he dropped the rifle in the wet sand. He ran his weak fingers through his hair and let out another angry wail, before standing again. He looked at the rifle laying in the sand, contemplating it quietly, before bending to pick it up.  
     “Where’s your shoes?”  
     Luke jumped so quickly that the gun almost went off in his hands. He was quick to recover though, and when he composed himself, he saw Nick standing, rather unceremoniously, about knee-deep in the river. There was a frog in his hands and a confused look on his face.  
     Luke looked down at his sore feet and saw that they indeed were bare and bleeding, and looked back up at Nick, who was still standing in the river with his pants rolled up past his knees.  
     “At the house, where are yours?” Luke clenched his jaw, though he felt his whole body uncoil, he needed to win this game.  
     “Left them on the bank with my socks. Didn’t want them to get wet.”  
     Nick’s innocent words set Luke off. Like a loaded spring, Luke shot into the river after Nick, who let out a yelp and ditched his frog. He didn’t make five feet before Luke was upon him, tackling him into the water and wrestling for dominance.  
     Nick thrashed wildly and cursed, but wasn’t as strong as Luke. He was able to scuttle to shallow water, but Luke would have none of it. The water was freezing on his back and stomach, and felt unpleasant on his jeans, but the side of himself that wanted to see Nick dead won out. Nick was able to hold Luke under for only a moment, before Luke has taken Nick’s legs out from under him. Nick didn’t have time to get up, so he scuttled backwards onto the shore, and Luke waded after him. Once he was able to stand, Luke only launched himself at Nick again, this time, landing hard on top of him. With a smirk, he was finally able to pin a giggling Nick to the shore of the small river. They both were soaking wet and cold and coughing from the water that had made it’s way into their lungs, but none of that mattered now. Nick was okay, they were laughing. That mattered.  
     The wind picked up, making gooseflesh rise where he had a hold of Nick’s wrists. Luke shivered and leaned back, having found a comfortable spot sitting on top of Nick’s gut. The guttural groan Nick made left him feeling satisfied.  
     “Asshole,” Nick choked out, not seeming to enjoy being sat on.  
     Luke could only chuckle when he watched Nick, with his dark, wet hair that stuck to his temples and the drips that went down his chin to the Adam’s apple on his neck. He could lick that droplet right up, all the way to his—  
     Luke stopped himself when he felt Nick shift awkwardly. He had also been staring at Luke with an unreadable expression on his face. Luke cleared his throat and stood, holding out his hand to help up his friend. Nick took Luke’s offer, and felt a little heavier than usual when he did pull himself up.  
     “We should get going.” Luke mumbled, turning away from Nick and back to the river. He didn’t bother rolling up his pant legs, which were already entirely soaked through. He shivered again when he stepped back into the cold water, suddenly realizing what a stupid idea it really was.  
     “Don’t stretch that shirt either, it’s my favourite.” Nick mumbled a few feet from Luke.  
     Luke looked down and noted how constricting the t-shirt he was wearing really was. They must have accidentally switched shirts last night before bed. He felt his face heat up in embarrassment before turning and splashing Nick with a grin. Nick couldn’t know, not now.  
     Luke looked on as he is friend sat on the shore and put both his shoes and socks on quietly. Everything Nick did seemed to be quietly. Like he needed to get out of the way quickly or go unnoticed. Luke found it endearing, like every mannerism and word was a secret Nick was sharing with him, that everything Nick did was important.  
     Once he looked to be done tying the laces on his boots, Luke turned back and started heading back towards the forest, rifle in hand. Pete would start wondering where the two of them had been, and probably start looking soon. It was only when he didn’t hear Nick following him did Luke turn back towards the water.  
     Nick was standing still, facing the river with his fists clenched and his head bowed.  
     Luke dropped the rifle again and walked over to his friend, “Hey, man.” He whispered, “You alright? Wanna talk about it?” Luke let one of his hands come to rest on his shoulder, and Nick did the little flinch that he’s always done when someone touched him. It was like he was scared to move or breathe wrong around people. Luke hated it and Nick’s dead father for it.  
     “She’s. . . she’s gone.” he said simply, as if he didn’t believe it himself.  
     “It ain’t your fault, now.” Luke said quietly, because she knew what Nick meant.  
     “Bullshit.” Nick whispered.  
     “You couldn’t’a-“  
     “What? Known?” Nick almost yelled, spinning around and pushing Luke off of him, “If I had just checked, I knew there was something funny about them, I. . . I could have—“  
     Luke was silent, and didn’t follow Nick as he went back to sit down on the bank. It was hard, losing your mom. It happened to everyone eventually, but Luke couldn’t even imagine losing anyone this way. Luke eventually went and sat beside Nick, wrapping an arm around his friend’s neck and pushing their heads together.  
     “You’re okay.” Luke sighed, gently tugging at Nick’s wet hair, “We should go home soon, wouldn’t want to catch cold or anything.”  
     Nick giggled, despite himself, “Hey, you’re the idiot who forgot to wear shoes out of the house.”  
     Again, Luke managed to wrestle Nick onto his back and straddle his waist, the smaller man could only laugh to himself, and put up minimal effort into resisting. Luke smirked, and felt his chest swell with the same pride and satisfaction that he always got when he fooled around with Nick, making the kid smile was something of an accomplishment to him. Once he did grab ahold of both of his wrists, Nick’s smile faded, and Luke’s stomach turned over. Without thinking, Luke leaned in close and gently pressed his lips to Nick’s.  
     He was met with no resistance, the hands that had been pinned above his head didn’t move, so Luke didn’t stop. Slowly, as if coaxing a wild animal, he let Nick’s body melt into the sand. Nick fidgeted and pulled on his restraints, leaving Luke in panic mode. Luke let go of his friend’s wrists and was going to get up, but his escape was stopped when Nick latched onto both sides of his face and smashed their lips back together.  
     Luke groaned as he felt Nick’s teeth nip and scrape at his lips, unintentionally dragging his hips over Nick’s. His friend let out a sigh that made Luke’s brain short circuit, and tug at his black hair even harder. He felt his face heat up and the wind rush over his damp back, making him shiver even more. The warmth of Nick’s lips was so distracting, Luke barely noticed the deep moans coming from the other side of the river.  
     “Shit!” Nick shimmied away and grabbed for the rifle while Luke struggled to his feet. A walker was struggling to make it’s way across the river. The strong current kept pulling the thing under the water.  
     “We should, uh, we should go.” Luke wiped at his mouth sheepishly, and edged towards the tree line. Nick turned and nodded at him, which was all the reassurance he needed. They both dashed through the trees, Luke both trying to ignore the pain in his feet and the hunger that ate away at every nerve in his body. By the time they were stomping back up the steps of the cottage, both of them were breathless with both exertion and laughter. Sarah eyed the two of them as they both tromped up the stairs in their soaking we clothing, but Luke only winked and continued up to his room.  
     Once there, Nick closed the door and peeled off the soaking shirt. Luke did the same, but couldn’t help a sideways glance at his friend’s bare chest. He was so distracted by the soft, yet jagged angles of Nick's ribs he ended up tangling himself up in the shirt that was too tight in the shoulders. Nick caught him with the garment halfway up his face and shoved Luke onto the bed, playfully jumping on top of him and pulling it off the rest of the way. Nick’s boldness surprised Luke, who laughed despite himself.  
     “You asshole! I knew you’d stretch it!” Nick cursed and tossed the shirt at the wall, where it landed with a very unsatisfying squelch.  
     Luke took the opportunity to grab Nick by his shoulder and flip them. Again, he felt that same thrill he always felt with his friend, so he leaned down and kissed him.  
     Nick met him halfway, impatiently crushing their mouths together in an impatient fury. Luke took this opportunity to trace the lines of Nick’s ribs, this time raising goosflesh for a whole different reason. Nick was noticeably shyer about it, and only really let his hands rest on the small of Luke’s back. Not that Luke was complaining. He liked the feeling of those cool hands over his back, it was very much like Nick to do so.  
     Luke ran a hand through Nick’s thick, black hair, and tugged gently. Nick let out a little groan in response, but obediently tipped his head back to allow Luke a better angle. Slowly, like he had all the time in the world, Luke kissed down Nick’s jaw to his ear, and then farther down to his neck. Nick sighed again and shifted his hips, subtly grinding against Luke.  
     Luke stifled a moan and bit down on Nick’s adam’s apple, which got him a low, guttural groan from the smaller man.  
     “Wha-what if-” Nick started, but Luke shut him up with a quick kiss.  
     “S’alright,” He cooed gently, Nick’s worrying wasn’t going to ruin this moment, not after pining for so long. His hands soon found the belt on Nick’s jeans, which he mad quick work of, unbuttoning them and reaching in impatiently.  
     Nick’s gasp was almost enough to send him over the edge, but he merely planted a kiss on his friend’s collarbone and began pumping. Nick’s clumsy fingers also fumbled to undo Luke’s pants, but took a much longer time than Luke had. Finally, after a few misses, Luke felt cool fingers slip around him, timid and careful.  
     Frustrated, Luke tugged a little harder on Nick, who arched his back, but still didn’t let out a sound. Luke shivered and found Nick’s lips again, and moaned loudly into him. The only noise on Nick’s account was short and quick gasps than made Luke’s head spin. Something about the shyness of Nick’s gestures and the near silence drove Luke crazy. All of a sudden he was desperate to get off, and began pumping harder and faster on Nick’s cock. Even then, Nick didn’t make a sound, and just burrowed his face into Luke’s shoulder, arching his back and roughly returning the favour.  
     With one small heave of breath, Nick shuddered and half-nuzzled his forehead into Luke’s collarbone. The name he choked out was quiet enough for Luke to question whether he had said it at all.  
     Imagined or not, it was enough to send Luke reeling over the edge, he let out another grunt and came on Nick’s hands, heaving and shaky.  
     Absolutely exhausted and spent, Luke collapsed on top of his partner, finding the spot between his neck and elbow to lazily teethe on. Nick didn’t seem to mind, he wrapped his hands around Luke’s back again and held him there, as if he was going to leave if he let go. Soon their breathing levelled out, and the room seemed much colder.  
They both discarded their wet pants and creeped under the covers in nothing but their underwear, the two of them boneless and grinning like idiots. There they warmed up beneath the blankets, the cool air and the sound of the wind did nothing to the heat that they both generated. Luke smiled into the crook of Nick’s collarbone. At least there were some things they could change.


End file.
